History

History Curriculum Information January 2024

Intention

At St John Bosco RC Primary School, we are dedicated to providing our pupils with a comprehensive and adaptable History curriculum from Nursery to Year 6.  We intend for our children to have a wide experience of History enabling them to use the skills they have learnt to support independent reflection and learning in their futures. 

Our History provision uses the CUSP scheme of work but this is adapted to suit the unique context of our school. Our intention is that our children are able to have a wider experience, appreciation of knowledge of the world and its history. 

The ethnic diversity of our school is reflected by Black History being integrated into our History curriculum and discussed and explored in each year group rather than being taught only during Black History Month (though this too is celebrated).

To further personalise the curriculum for our unique catchment area, local history is taught through a focus on our local area, the Mancunian Suffragettes  and Victorian Manchester.

Our History curriculum units each have a vocabulary element to them; this includes the technical language required and also tier 2 vocabulary which they can understand and use across the curriculum.

At St John Bosco RC Primary School, we consider mental wellbeing to be paramount to the academic success of pupils.  Via History (and other areas of the curriculum) we intend to foster warm and supportive communication that will enable every child to thrive.  We intend that our pupils will be able to work with confidence across the different areas of the History curriculum.  Some may discover a passion; others will gain knowledge as well as skills.  

In Practice

In EYFS, History relates to the specific area of learning “Understanding the world.”  Through direct teaching and continuous provision, children begin to understand  some similarities and differences between things in the past and now.  Children are able to access stories and role play every day through continuous provision both inside and via our outdoor learning area. 

From Year 1 to 6 History is taught discretely as a subject but the timing of the lesson is at the discretion of the teacher, taking into account the requirements of each piece of work.  For example rather than a weekly History lesson for half a term, a teacher may teach to do 3 afternoons of History consecutively.  Texts in English may link with History topics to enable deeper understanding of the aspects of history studied and bring periods of history to life through the characters in the stories.  Trips and experiences are also arranged to support learning in History.

Children have History exercise books to record their learning.  Knowledge notes with key information are used for each lesson and children annotate these with additional facts and references.  In order to embed learning scorative quizzes are used alongside the knowledge notes to support the retention of information during the course of a topic.

Our afterschool book club (which is always oversubscribed) regularly reads historical novels which enhances the children’s engagement with the subject further.

Cross-Curricular Links: We aim to integrate History into other subjects.  Computing strategies are used to present information and Art and Design technology can also be linked to the History curriculum (this differs from year group to year group).

Homework:

No homework is set for History, but parental involvement in our special celebration days encouraged eg Remembrance Day, Martin Luther King day, Black History Month.

How Parents Can Help:

Talk to your child about your past, look at photos from your childhood.

Read and share historical books.

Another way to help is to visit museums, historic houses and talk about the topics that they are doing. The children who love history are often the ones who have seen a love of the past in their parents. There are many free museums, especially in the bigger cities. Use them as a resource and spend quality time sharing the past together. Otherwise, watch age-appropriate history programmes on TV.

There are some fantastic children’s books based in the past. Whilst these are often fiction, there will be facts and figures in the books that children will remember. Some good examples include: anything by Caroline Lawrence (the Roman Mysteries), Goodnight Mr Tom (WW2 and evacuation), Stig of the Dump (Clive King) and picture books or non-fiction books that you can share at bedtime.

Finally, if all else fails, embrace the Horrible Histories approach and go for the gross! Knowing about toilet etiquette in Roman times, that the Ancient Greek men did sports naked, or that the Ancient Egyptians used to hook the brains of dead people out through their nose before mummification will be enough to liven up any conversation about history!

The BBC website (though no longer being updated) has loads of links to videos, games and information a range of historical periods

Try Teaching History with 100 Objects for some great ideas for using artefacts to teach history

We believe studying history gives our children the opportunity to:

• Learn historical facts and dates
• Learn about historical characters
• Compare and contrast how people have lived in the past and compare this to modern life.
• Examine how and why things have changed
• Be open minded and enquiring thinkers who understand cause and effect
• Expand their research skills and to develop an understanding of why the world and its people are the way they are today.
• Most importantly, it prompts children to question as they explore the diversity of human experience, past lives and societies.  This can then help them to make sense of the world we live in.

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